Lake Shore Lodge Estes Park

... still don't feel up to the kind of travel I was doing - constant unknowns, unfamiliar places, etc. - but I knew I couldn't stay in Boulder despite enjoying being close to my kids and friends. The sad truth is that I can't stand the cold! When I tell people that they say things like oh yes, but with the proper clothing,,,etc. Yes, I know how to dress in the cold. I have camped in temperatures down to 13F, I know ...

... when you've been in the car a week and you're living in hotels the routine gets REALLY old, especially when you're ready to get to your destination. Turns out there was a huge pile up on route 40 that afternoon so theoretically we were wise in holding off another day, but Day 8 and the open road can't come fast enough!

Deciding to take an optimistic stance towards our stationary situation, I headed out for an afternoon of ...

... streaming, by the way, is a great way to end up wasting time that was never intended to be wasted. For dinner we checked out Jax, a local seafood restaurant. Turns out one of the exec chefs just won Top Chef. Exciting, and regardless of recent, popular accolades the food was delicious enough to stand on its own without a TC title.

Basically Boulder is awesome and I can easily see how people come out here and never leave! Two more days til we hit the road again.

... nicely after the AC was on for a little. The hotel was the built for the archaeologists excavating the ancient Mayan city Chichen so it is very near to the site and tastefully littered with artifacts. We couldn't see anything when we first got to the hotel because the sun had set.

So, the next morning I was up early checking out the surroundings, and OH MY GOD, I have never stayed at a more beautful place. After breakfast, we ...

... and music and I thought I ought to take advantage of this cultural offering...and I'm glad I did. The opera was Tales of Hoffman (I'd never heard of it) and the production was quite enjoyable. The costumes were fabulous! This photo appeared in a review in the Denver Post and described Olympia's robot costume as weighing 75 pounds! Her performance was incredible.

This picture explains why I'm heading south!

... the pullout. We went with Nao and his friends (Rob & Mark). Nao lead the trad climbs while I cleaned the routes. We did the routes... Jam It (5.8), Ho Hum (5.4), and Fistula (5.4).

http://www.mountainproject.com/ v/colorado/boulder/boulder_canyon/10574 4641

Yes, we finally made it. We planed on doing a lot of hard-core driving. So, Ram was always happy to finally reach our destination.

The funniest thing happened though.... We ended up getting a room for the night only because the great Rocky Mountain National Park was closed for construction!?!?!?!?! huh?!?!?!?! ha ha ha....

... entralled. The hotel has even had the Ghost Hunter tv show out here several times. Anyway, after the tour we head up to the 4th floor to find us some ghosts...none were found (surprise) but the boys had fun being spooked. They even sat on the haunted couch. It has been a great hotel and great views...I would love to come back.

... up the side of the mountain but maybe that was because I had to stop so many times to catch my breath. The good thing was is that when I ran out of breath, I was able to recover quickly and keep going. I didn't stop for water until the end of the trail which was about 4 miles at the top of the mountain. The trail intersected with the North Longs Peak trail which slowly took me northwest and was mostly a downhill trail. It was a change ...

Well, all summer long we have been hiking in Boulder. We only went to a few different places, but we went every weekend. It's funny because we never hiked before and actually used to think that it sucked. Guess it's only memories of when we were young, hiking with your parents at 10 or 11 years old is never fun. The mountains are amazing in Colorado, the bluest skies and the fresh air of the mountains is invigerating. We got in the best shape ever, mixed with running races and ...